Surprised by Grace

Jonah, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

We are working our way through a four-part series in the book of Jonah. Today we move into the second scene of the unfolding story (1:17-2:10). This chapter is the happiest part of the entire book, which is telling if nearly drowning and being swallowed by a large marine mammal is the high point of your story. The entire chapter is comprised of Jonah’s prayer to God from within the fish. In it he records his distressing descent to the bottom of the ocean and God’s subsequent (and unlikely) miraculous salvation. While it is easy to get distracted by the fish, the main character is God himself. Today we see that God is so bent on Jonah’s ultimate good that he goes to great lengths in pursuit of him. He is more concerned about the condition of Jonah’s heart, than the condition of his life. In fact, as only God can do, he uses the conditions of life to effect change in Jonah’s heart. He does the same in our lives today.